Improvement in purifying illuminating-gas



w. HQ'ST;,1`0HN. Purifyng Illuminating Gas,

ffii/12 2(0)."

'Jg i.

THE GRAPHIC CQmHOYo-LITMJQR. 4l PARK PLAcEJiX NrrEn STATES PATENT OFFICE;

WILLIAMV n. sry; JOHN, or NEw Yonk, N. r.

rIMPROVEMENT IN YPURIFYINGI lLLUMlNATlNG-GAS.

Specification formingl part of Letters Patent Nol 154,351, dated August 25, 1874; application iiled l February 24, 1874.

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, WILLIAM H. Sr. JonN,

of the city, county, andV State ofl New York,

have invented certain VImprovements inthe Purification of Illuminating-Gas, of which the spraying, percolation, or otherwise, the hereintofore-indicatedpliqilor evolved from the gasproducing material 5. also, in certain novel combinations of parts, whereby the said process may be successfully carried out in practice.

The drawing represents a front view and partial vertical section of the apparatus.

A is the usual, henchof retorts, which may be duplicated to any required extent, and of which B is the hydraulic main, andav the dippipes. C is a chamber, divided, by a horizontal partition, b,-into an upper and lower'eompartment, and-provided with dip-tubeso, depending from the partition b. `A curved pipe, D, extends from the upper part or "gas-space of the hydraulic main to the upper compartment of the chamber O. At any desired point in this pipe Dis provided an exhauster, E, of the usual or any suitable construction. From the lower portion of thel hydraulic main--that is to say, the portion containing the liquid, or liquor `which seals the dip-pipes a-tof-the lower compartment of the chamber G extends a pipe, F. `The liquids produced ,by the Vcondensationin the hydraulic main of the vapors evolved from the gas-producing material during the distillation of said material, after serving to seal the dip-pipes a, ilow through the pipe F into the lower compartment of the chamber C, and rise therein to a height suflicient to seal the lower ends of the dip-tubes c, as indicated-in the drawing, the dip-tubes, with their lower ends thus immersed, providing a hydraulic seal. As the liquor ilows into the aforesaid lower part of the chamber C, a portion of that previously contained therein is displaced, and flows ou-t through an outletvalve, Gr. This valve is preferably made capable of vertical adjustment, to permit the height of the liquor in the chamber to be regulated, to insure any required depth of seal to the dip-tubes. H is the tar-well, provided at any suitable distance from the chamber C, but between the latter and the scrubber. (Shown at I.) A pipe, J, passes from the valve G to the tar-well, to conduct to the latter the outflow of liquid from the chamber C, Adjacent to the tar-well is the cistern K, with which, near the top, it is connected by a passage, e. The tar, by its superior' gravity, sinks in the tar-well, leaving, ina comparatively clear condition, Vthe supernatant liquor, which then flows through the passage e' into the cistern, The bottom of the scrubber I is connected, by a pipe,- M, with the space between the liquor in the chamber C and the partition b thereof.

The scrubber is furnished internally with perforated or slatted lshelves-f, upon which is placed coke, breese, orequivalent material.. l (Shown atd.) In the top of the scrubber is' provided lthe foraminated showering-chamber e, from which to the cistern Kis extended the pipe Gi, the lower end of this pipe preferably dipping nearly tov the bottom of the cistern.

` Connected to this pipe at any suitable-pointis a pump, N, of any appropriate kind, the said pump operating to -draw the liquid contents of the cistern fromv the latter, and force such liquor to the showering-chamber e, whence it descends, in the form of spray, or finely-divided drops, or streams, to the coke or equivalent material placed on the uppermost of theshelves f.- After percolating through the said material the liquor further descends, in a finelydivided condition, to the material on the shelf below, and finally to the bottom of the scrubber, where it passes off through a suitable outlet-pipe, m, back to the cisternK, whence it is again withdrawn and passed through the scrubber, substantially the same volume of the liquor being used over and over again. Any surplus passing to or accumulating in the cistern passes offpthrough an outlet, m', provided to the cistern at any-suitable height.

By returning the liquid back from the scrubv ber to the cistern its entire purifying power is ic main through the pipe D, into the upperV compartment of the chamber C, passes thence down the dip-tubes c, into and throughthe liquor in the lower part ofthe chamber. YThere the tar bythe law of cohesion agglomerates, and is thereby separated from the gas. The liquid llowing from the chamber through the pipe J to the Well H, the tar settles in the latter, and the clear liquor passes thence into the cistern K, whence it is takenina continuons stream by the pump N, and forcedfthrough the pipe Gx to the showering-chamber, whence it descends through the scrubber, vas herein-V tofore set forth. Meanwhile, the gas as it emerges from the liquor in the chamber C, passes through the pipe M to the bottom of the scrubber, and rising through'the latterhas its whole volume subjected tothe intimate contact and actiony of the descending liquor, and finally makes its exit through a suitable outlet, g. By this means vthe gas is brought into immediate contact with a large surface of therliqngorfand. is' consequently subjected thoroughly to the action ofthe said liquor. l This action isl mainly of a chemicalk character, the sulphurousacid and the carbon ic-'acid in thev crude gasbeing neutralized andlixed by the am 'a existing in considerable percentage inthe` liquor, ythe resultantlsalts remaining in solution in the liquor, while the gas, freed from the aeriform acid impurities just named, passes out from the apparatus in a stateof comparative purity. Moreover, the bisulphi'de of carbon, refractory to ordinary purifying methods, is dissolved and separated from the gas by the sulphideof ammonium contained in the liquor. Furthermore, the naphthaline held in suspension by the gas as it comes from the hydraulic main, andv which has hitherto uniformly caused much trouble by choking pipes, burners, &c., is Wholly removed -by the solvent action of the coal-oils conta-inedin the liquor, and Vwith which the gas is brought into intimate contact while passing through the chamber C, &c.

It will be seen that the principle of this invention remains the same in Whatever manner the liquor be made 'to pass through the gas. For example, in the scrubber, reliance might beplaced wholly upon showering or spraying the ammoniacal liquor through the volume of gas, or in lieu of this, solely upon causing the gas to pass through the interstices of ay mass of broken material or coke kept moistened by a constant llow of the liquor thereupon, the essential condition being that the liquor be-made to pass through the volume of gas in such a manner as to presentan extended surface to the same. It will further- ,more be seen that if the pipe (rX were arranged totake only the clear or supernatant liquor from the tar-well, the operation would remain the same, if the pipe GX were made to dip into the said tar-Well instead of the cistern, the latter in such cases being dispensed with. But it shouldbe keptA in mind that the hydraulic seal constituted by the arrangement ofthe dip-tubeswithreference to the liquor in the chamber G, has an important function in the most efficient carrying out of the process, for the reason that the said seal insures, practically, the separation of the tar from the gas" before the gas reaches the scrubber, thereby preventing that clogging of the scrubber with tar, which would otherwise occur. In lieu of the precise construction shown, a single dip-tubeor other appropriate equivalent may be used. y

What I claim as my invention is- Y- 1. The arrangement of the hydraulic seal between the pipe D and the wet scrubber, whereby the gas is forced from the tar-to insure thev efficient operation `of the scrubber, substantially as herein set forth.'

2. Bioadly, thev within-described process.v of purifyingilluminating gas, by passing through it the-liquor derived from the gas-producing material in the manufacture of the gas-,substantially as herein set forth.

3. Specifically, the relative arrangement-ot' the tar-well or ammoniacal-liquor cistern of a gas-works, the 'scrubber of such works, the pipe GrX and pump N, whereby the liquor is conducted from the tar-well to the scrubber, to exert its purifying action upon the gas, in the manner herein setV forth.

4. The combination, with the scrnbber'and the cistern, of the kpipem, whereby the liquor is returned to the cistern after its use in the scrubber, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

W. H. ST. JOHN. Witnesses:

W. T. BALLARD, GEO. H. ST. JOHN. 

